How can I prevent a court-ordered sale of my co-owned house? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a court orders a sale of co-owned real estate only if a fair physical division (partition in kind) is impracticable or would cause substantial injury to a co-owner. To prevent a sale, you must timely oppose…
How do I ensure life insurance proceeds are paid out correctly through the estate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, life insurance usually pays directly to the named beneficiary and does not go through probate or pay general estate debts. If the policy names the “estate” (or no beneficiary is on file), the…
How do I start a small estate process to transfer my spouse’s assets? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, most spouses start with the small estate “collection by affidavit” if the decedent’s net personal property is $20,000 or less and at least 30 days have passed since death. With a minor child, the…
Can I transfer the house and car solely into my name without formal probate? – North Carolina Short Answer Often, yes. In North Carolina, a home titled with your spouse as tenants by the entirety (the usual form for married couples) and a vehicle titled with a right of survivorship both pass to you automatically…
What happens to joint bank accounts and credit card debts after my spouse’s death? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, most joint bank accounts with a right of survivorship transfer to the surviving co-owner at death. If the estate does not have enough assets to pay allowed claims, the personal representative can seek…
What steps do I need to take to claim a share of an intestate estate as a surviving spouse whose spouse died before the decedent? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you do not inherit from your parent-in-law’s intestate estate just because you were married to a child who died before the decedent.…
What can I do if the estate is being administered without my involvement? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, only “interested persons” (such as heirs, devisees, creditors, or the personal representative) have a right to participate in an estate. A son- or daughter-in-law is not an heir to a parent-in-law’s intestate estate. If…
How can I protect my inheritance rights in my father-in-law’s estate when my spouse predeceased him? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina intestate estates (no valid will), in-laws do not inherit. If your spouse died before your father-in-law, you personally do not take a share of his estate. Instead, any children of your…
How do I open an estate for my parent to transfer title of a property inherited from a great-grandparent? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, title to real estate passes at death to the heirs or devisees, but you often must open an estate or record probate documents to clear the chain of…
How can I clear the title of a property that was never retitled after inheritance? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, title to real property passes at death to heirs (no will) or to devisees once a will is probated. To clear title where retitling never happened, you typically probate any will (even…
